This invention relates to the handling of palletized goods in a warehouse or the like, and more particularly to handling and transfer of a plurality of pallet-carrying modules from place-to-place in association with a basic block of modules.
Numerous systems have been devised for the transfer of goods, such as groceries, in a storage warehouse. The goods are normally stored on pallet racks which are positioned in some sort of arrangement for access thereto so that the goods may be removed for placing an order. See, for example, the systems disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,687,312, 3,731,824 and 4,470,742. Reference is also made to the systems marketed under the trademarks MAXICUBE, AUTO-STAK, FAST-STAK, QUIK-TRIEVE and others by Richards-Wilcox of Aurora, Ill.
Many of the known systems are exceedingly complex, take up a great amount of floor space, and require a substantial amount of labor. For example, many such systems involve pallet racks which are arranged in rows with numerous aisles therebetween, and require workers to circulate through the aisles and come to the particular fixed pallets for retrieving and accumulating the desired goods, either manually or by means of vertically movable cranes on which the workers sometimes ride.
In addition, modularized pallet racks and the like are often extremely heavy and numerous devices have been devised for easily moving them from place-to-place. See, for example, the devices disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,413,041, 3,734,231 and 3,820,467.
It is an object of the present invention to improve the handling and transfer of palletized goods in a warehouse or the like in a manner which is relatively simple as well as space and labor saving. It is a further object to provide a system wherein the goods are brought to the worker, rather than the reverse. An additional object is to utilize a transferring arrangement which substantially overcomes the weight difficulties involved with palletized goods.
In accordance with the various aspects of the invention, a storage warehouse or the like is provided with a plurality of modules of palletized goods of one or more tiers. Each module includes a plurality of pallet racks arranged in longitudinally extending dual rows of a desired length. In turn, the modules themselves are arranged in side-by-side parallel rows forming a block of primary modules of a fixed number, with the block having an exposed side having an order picking station and a stocking station for workers. In the embodiment shown therein, a single aisle behind the exposed block side accommodates second order picking and stocking stations. The row of modules along the block's exposed side forms a working row, while the module row or rows behind the row containing the exposed side form storage rows.
The modules are circulated from the storage rows to the working row, and then back again to storage. Movement of the modules is enhanced by an acceleration-deceleration system and a floor air bearing system. Module transfer is accomplished by a pair of opposed computer controlled motorized transfer devices disposed at opposite ends of the block, in conjuntion with one or more secondary modules in addition to the fixed number of primary modules forming the block.
A method aspect of the invention contemplates positioning a secondary module at the upstream end of the working row and pushing the entire row downstream, causing the secondary module to join the block and the downstream primary module to exit the block. The newly exited module is then moved transversely to the downstream end of a storage row, and the entire row pushed upstream, causing the exited module to again join the block and the upstream primary module in that row to exit the block. The latter module is utilized to repeat the previous procedure, with modules entering and exiting the block in a flow pattern such that, over time, all modules may enter the working row and pass the order picking and stocking stations.